before i go on talking about the spawn, i'd like everyone to keep their negative comments to themselves. please dont tell me to do research and such because i have done plenty. i am well equipped and prepared for this.

the story before the real story:
my initial plan was to spawn the following couple: a ct male, and vt female. these two have been well conditioned for over two weeks. i have been feeding them purely bloodworm with the occasional brine shrimp.

needless to say, after a full day in the tank together, things did not work out. i had to stop this because the male was beaten up badly with very little tail left. poor guy.

now onto the real story:
my intent was to remove the red vt female and end it there. i figured, although beaten, the male is still healthily conditioned and has a big nest. what harm could it be to add in another female for a quick while.

the spawning pair:
male: grey and red CT

female: black orchid CT (although not conditioned by me, it's evident she is full of eggs and ready to spawn)

i was worried about putting the female in because she is too pretty. had anything bad happened, i would have taken her out immediately.

to my amazement, they took no longer than five minutes before getting down to business! they went at it for about an hour. during most of the time, the male kept eating the eggs, and it was the female that gathered the eggs into the nest. i was worried that the male wouldn't stop until he has eaten every last one. after they stopped embracing, i removed the female and left the male to tend the nest. im relieved that there are still plenty of eggs right now.

here is the result of the female fish. although still in good conditioned, im sadden by the few nips.

being a big ct fan, i am much happier spawning this couple than my initial pair. ct x vt will almost always result in vt offspring. i would rate this as a fairly successful spawn. please dont ask demeaning questions about food, raising, etc. i believe i'm well informed with all the necessary resource. there should not be any problems. *knocks on wood*

i will say that i will be culling a good majority of the offspring. i will not get into details nor do i wish to debate the ethical issues. you are entitled to your opinions as i am to mine.